Slat-and-wire fence-machine



(No Model.)

2 Sheets- Sheet 1. A. J. HALEY.

SEAT AND WEEE EENGE MACHINE. -No. 513,503.

Patented Jan. 3Q, 1.8.94.

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(No Model.) y sheetssheet 2. A. J HALBY.

l SEAT AND WIRE FENCE MACHINE. NQ. 513,503. Patented Jan. 30, 1894i.

ANSLEM J. HALEY, OF DALLAS, TEXAS.

SLAT-AND-WIRE FENCE-"MACHINE SPECIFICATION forming part of LettersPatent No. 513,503, dated January 30, 1894. Application filed April11,1893. Serial No. 469,984. (No model.)

To @ZZ whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, ANsLEM J. HALEY, a citizen of the United States,residing at Dallas, in the county of Dallas and State of Texas, haveinvented a new and useful Wire-Fence Machine, of which the following isa specification.

My invention relates to improvements in wire-fence machines, the objectsin View being to provide a simple and compact device which can be movedand operated by hand in the construction of a fence composed ofhorizontal wire strands and vertical pickets of wood, metal, or othersuitable material.

' In carrying out my invention I employ means for stretching andmaintaining the wires under tension during the twisting operation, suchtension device being so constructed as to feed the wire as it isrequired without lessening the tension; and in connection with suchtension device I employ a twisting mechanism by means of which anydesired number of pairs of wires may be twisted together to secure thepickets in place, such pairs of wires being either smoother barbed, orboth; namely, one being smooth and the other barbed.

My invention is more fully described hereinafter in connection with thedrawings, and` the novel features thereof are particularly pointed outin the appended claims.

In the drawings-Figure 1 is a perspective View of a fence in process oferection, the machine embodying my invention being shown in theoperative position. Fig. 2 is a vertical sectional view of the twisterto show the means for connecting the twister heads for simultaneousrotation. Fig. 3 is a detail enlarged sectional view taken axially ofone of the twister heads. Fig. 4. is a detail view in perspective of atension device. Fig. 5 is an end view of a modified form of a twisterhead.

Similar numerals of reference indicate corresponding parts in all thefigures of the drawings.

1 designates a twister, having a frame, 2, consisting of parallel sidebars, 3, which are held at the desired interval by blocks, 4, insertedbetween their extremities and are secured together by means of bolts orscrews, 5, or other suitable retaining devices. Rotatably mounted inregistering bearings in the parallel side bars 3 and spaced at suitableintervals to correspond with the horizontal members of the proposedfence are the twister heads 6. In the construction illustrated threetwister heads are shown, two being located near the extremities of thesupporting frame, and the third being arranged midway betweensuch'terminaltwisters. Fixedexteriorlytothe twister heads, and, ifdesired, formed integral therewith, as shown in Fig. 3, aresprocketgears 7 which are arranged between the side bars of the frameand are connected for simultaneous rotation by means of a sprocket chain8. It is desirable that all of the twisters should rotate, duringoperation, in the same direction, and hence the chain is arranged topass over and under the terminal gears and engage the sides of theintermediate gear, the sides of such chain not being crossed. In orderto insure a positive engagement of the chain with the intermediate gearand provide means for taking up slack in the chain I have shown idlers9, whose spindles 10 extend through horizontally-disposed slots 11 inthe side bars of the supporting frame and are held in adjusted positionsby means `of nuts 12. The arrangement of these parts will be clearlyunderstood by reference to Fig. 2 of the drawings in which thedisposition of the sprocket chain in passing around the adjusting idlersis fully shown. Secured to the intermediate twister head outside of thesupporting frame is an operating wheelll provided with handles 14:, andby means of this operating wheel the said intermediate twister may berotated in eitherdirection and the motion thereof imparted by means ofthe chain to the terminal u twisters. i

All of the twister heads are similar in construction, and hence thedescription of one of them will suffice for all.

15 represents a cylinder which is mounted in bearings 16 in the sidebars of the supporting frame and is provided with shoulders 17 to bearagainst the inner surfaces of such side bars. The ends of the cylinderare flared or bell-shaped, as shown at 18, for a purpose to behereinafter explained. Arranged concentrically in this outer cylinder isan inner cylinder or tube 19 which is held in position roo within theouter cylinder by means of radiallydisposed dividing webs or bars 2Owhich are so arranged as to divide the bore of the outer cylinder toform duplicate guides 21, as shown clearly in Fig. 2, a wire beingdesigned to extend, during operation, through each guide. Dividing websor bars 22 are also employed in thejnner cylinder or tube to divide itsbore to form the duplicate inner guides 23, as shown in Fig. 2. The websor bars 20 which divide the interior of the outer cylinder arepreferably inclined inward or from the ends of the cylinder to lpreventthe catching of the barbs of wire thereupon. These bars or webs 20 may,however, be arranged in an upright position instead of inclined, asshown, but the latter construction is preferable. Thus, it will be seenthat I have provided outer and inner concentric cylinders, the bore ofeach of which is divided to form duplicate guides or holders throughwhich the wires, which form the horizontal strands of the fence, aredesigned to pass. The guides or holders vof the outer cylinder aredesign ed for barbed wire and the guides or holders of the innercylinder for smooth wire which does `not require as much space in orderto pass freely. When a barbed wire and a smooth wire are used together,as shown in the drawings in Fig. 1, the barbed wire is arranged in oneof the outer guides or holders and the smooth wire in one of the innerguides or holders. The flared or bell-shape of the extremities of theouter cylinder serve to guide the wire into the twister head without therisk of engagement of the barbs with the ends of the cylinder, and theends of the bore of the inner cylinder are also flared or recessed, asshown at 24. This construction is especially useful when the pickets,which are being secured by means of the wire strands, are of greaterwidth or thickness than the bore of the outer cylinder, therebynecessitating the contracting or drawing together of the strands as theyenter the twister head.

The tension device which I prefer to employ in connection with myinvention comprises a Y-shaped frame 25 having the parallel arms 26 andthe oppositely extended stem 27. Rotatably mounted in suitable bearingsin said arms 26 is a tension roller 28 bearing at one end an operatingcrank 29 and a ratchet 30, the latter being engaged by a pawl 3l toprevent the backward rotation of the tension roll. Connected to thetension roller, in position to be coiled thereupon in operating thetension device, are the flexible connections 32 which are adapted to besecured at their rear ends, as shown in Fig. 1, to a suitable obj ect,such as a post or tree, as hereinafter explained. The stem 27 isprovided with lateral grooved studs or pins 33.

over and under which strands of wire are adapted tobe woven, the laststud or pin 34 being smooth to enable the wire to be carried laterallyfrom the tension device to the supply roll without danger of kinking.

This being, essentially, the construction of my improved fence machine,the operation thereof in the erection of a fence is as follows: To aterminal post 35 are attached the ends of the wires or strands 36, inpairs. In this case one of each pair of strands is of smooth wire andthe other of barbed wire, this being a convenient arrangement inasmuchas it provides the necessary strength and a sufficient number of barbsat a less expense than would be necessary if both wires were barbed.Previous to the attachment of the ends of the strands to the terminalpost 35 such strands are passed through the twister heads, in the wayhereinbefore explained, whereby the twister is supported upon the wires.The coils or rolls of wire are now carried backward a sufficientdistance, which may be determined by the operator, and are woven in themanner described, and as clearly shown in Fig. l of the drawings, aroundthe lateral studs or pins which are carried by the tension devices, thelatter having been previously connected by means of the connections 32to the anchorpost 37. Having attached the strands in this manner to thetension devices the tension rolls are rotated by means of theiroperating cranks 29 to produce the desired tension in the strands, butinasmuch as the connection of the strands to the tension devices is notpermanent or immovable it will be understood that up to a certaintension the strands will be held and beyond that they will slip over thestuds or pins, and hencein case the distance between the terminal postand the anchor-post is unusually great, or in case it is desired tosecure a greater tension than will be afforded by the attachment of thestrands as above described, such strands may be coiled or reeled one,two, or more times around the last stud or pin 34. With the partsarranged as described the twister is operated in one direction toproduce a twisting of the strands adjacent to the terminal post, afterwhich the first picket is inserted, the twister being backed suliicientto enable such picket to be arranged in the proper position. Now usingthe twister as a ram by sliding the same upon the strands, the picket isdriven firmly against the last twist, after which the twister isoperated in the opposite direction and a twist is formed upon theopposite side of the first picket to hold the latter in place. Thisoperation is repeated for each succeeding picket.

It is obvious that the twisting of the strands produces an excessivetension upon the sanne and the extra material which is used to form suchtwists is supplied by the strands slipping through the tension device,the friction between the studs or pins and the wire being sufficient toprevent the tension from being relaxed.

When my improved device is employed in connection with barbed wire it isdifficult to slide the twister by hand in driving the picket in place,and hence I employ a tightening device consisting of a holder plate 38,which IOO is adapted` to bear against the side of the picket which isalready rmly secured in place, and is provided with lateral ears 39, ashaft which is rotatably mounted in suitable bearings 41 upon the frameof the twister, an operating handle 42 connected to such shaft,duplicate drums 43 carried by the shaft, and connections 44 which areattached at one end to the ears 39 and are reeled at the other end uponthe drums 43. A pawl and ratchet device 45 is employed to preventbackward rotation of the drums, and by turning the operating handleforwardly the twister frame can be drawn up iirmly against the lastpicket to force the latter to place. The holder plate 38 is providedwith a slot or notch 46 to fit over the twisted strands or wires, asshown clearly in Fig. l.

In Fig. 5 I have shown a twister head of a slightly modied constructionin which a single cylinder 47 is employed, the bore of such cylinderbeing divided to form the necessary guides or holders by means ofparallel sub stantially diametrical webs 48 which are connected at theircenters by a cross-web 49. The guides or holders 50 which are inclosedbetween the webs 48 and are separated from each other by the cross-Web49 are the inner guides or holders for the reception of the smooth wire,and the guides or holders 51 which are outside of said webs 48 are theouter guides or holders and are designed for the barb wire when such isused.

It will be understood that various other changes in the construction ofthe twister head and of other parts of the mechanism may be resorted towithout departing from the spirit of my invention or sacrificing any ofthe advantages thereof.

It will be seen that the operating wheel is fixed to the central twisterhead and motion is communicated from said central twister head to theterminal twister head, the object in this construction being to preventspringing of either end of the twister frame during the operation oftwisting, as would be the result in case the power was communicated to aterminal twister head. Furthermore, I have provided the frame of thetwister with a handhold whereby the twister may be held in operativerelation to the last applied picket by one hand of the operator whilethe operating wheel is rotated by the other.

It will be not-ed, furthermore, that the stem 27, from which project thelateral studs or pins for the engagement of the strands or wires, actsas a dividing web to prevent contacting between the twin strands orwires, and hence enables the tension of each wire to be preservedindependently of the other and also prevents interference between thestrands.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is 1. In a device ofthe class described, a twister having twister heads provided withduplicate outer and duplicate inner guides or holders for the receptionof strands or wires, and means for operating such twister heads,substantially as specified.

2. In a device of the class described, a twister having rotatabletwister heads comprising uter andinner concentric cylinders, the boresof such cylinders being divided by transverse webs or bars to formduplicate outer and inner guides or holders, and means for operatingAsuch twister heads, substantially as specified.

3. In a device of the class described,` a twister having rotatabletwister heads cornprising an outer cylinder provided with flared orbell-shaped terminals, an inner concentric cylinder, andradially-disposed bars or Webs to divide the interior of such cylindersto form guides or holders, and means for operating the twister heads,substantially as specified.

4. In a device of the class described, the combination with asupporting-frame having parallel side-bars, of cylindrical twister-headsrevolubly mounted in registering bearings in said side-bars and projectin gat theirterminals beyond the outer surfaces of the same,chainwheels fixed to the twister-heads and terminating in shoulderswhich engage the inner surfaces of the side-bars, a chain connectingsaid chain-wheels, and means for communicating motion to one of thetwister-heads, substantially as specified.

5. In a device of the class described, the combination with a twisterhaving a frame,

rotatable twister heads, and means for operplate and the dru ms,substantially as specified.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as IOO my own I have heretoaffixed my signature in the presence of two Witnesses.

ANSLEM J. I-IALEY.

Witnesses:

.I. H. SIGGERS, E. G. SIGGERS.

